In the United States, the time change is about to take place, which may cause some stress due to what biologically happens to the body when it adapts to a new time, discomfort that can last for several days.
Both winter and summer time have effects on the body. Dr. Raúl Roblero, a researcher at the Institute of Cellular Physiology of the UNAM, explained that with the time change, people are likely to experience difficulties in their adaptation, because all living beings have a circadian clock located in the hypothalamus of the brain, which is responsible for coordinating the entire body.
“It affects us, but it does not harm us. Our body protests what is happening, but it does not harm us in the sense that we are going to get sick, unless we have an additional problem”, indicated the specialist.
What is true is that when winter time begins, many people may experience various ailments, and among the most common are:
Irritability
Difficulty concentrating
Mood changes that trigger depression and anxiety
Sleepiness
Memory retention
This has been supported by research conducted by the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health of the UNAM, which have found that people can experience a constant fight against changes in mood, cognitive functioning and psychomotor performance during the time change, derived from a forced desynchronization that is induced between the sleep and autonomic rhythms.
Health experts say that the short-term changes caused by the change to winter time are not as drastic as those that can be observed in summer time, because during this time one hour of sleep is lost and there is greater exposure to sunlight, which modifies the secretion of some hormones.
However, in the medium term, the time In winter, it may have greater incidences because the reduction in hours of sunlight increases the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that is involved in regulating sleep and has hypnotic and relaxing effects. Serotonin is also reduced, which is related to euphoric, well-being and hunger control.
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